


In Another Universe I Could Love You Forever

by livingdeadgirl



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Super spoilers, Time Lines Screwed With
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2020-01-31 20:49:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18599158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livingdeadgirl/pseuds/livingdeadgirl
Summary: AU to the ending of Avengers: EndgameSteve keeps silent about the identity of who put that ring on his finger, but his mind can't stop itself from remembering.





	In Another Universe I Could Love You Forever

When Sam had mentioned the ring that had sat on his finger for so long now he no longer felt it, he didn't have the heart to tell him who had put it there. Although this time was long since past for him, the pain was very much new for those that he had left behind. He could see in his friends eyes what he was thinking, and knew if he turned to look at Bucky and Bruce the same thought would be there for them too. 

He smiled softly as he denied to tell him of the life he had led, letting them imagine him going back to his original time and finally having his forever after with Peggy, not correcting him when he said 'she'. And although he did go back, just once, it was only to say goodbye and give her the dance they had promised each other a lifetime ago.  
Spending time with her in her old age when he first woke up, she told him proudly of the life she had led without him, the life she had made for herself. She had loved her husband deeply, and her children, and her grandchildren, he could never take that away from her, even if it was a time line that she never would have known they existed. She did great things for the world away from him, and he wouldn't deny the world Peggy Carter for anything.  
He wanted them to be free from each other, he would always love her and knew she would always love him, but it was never meant to be more, and their first and last dance on a warm summer day in the living room of her charming house was all he could offer, one last love song.  
He still had a job to complete.

At first it was always his goal to go back to his universe. The Stones had been placed back to their original moments with little issue, with only the Time Stone left before he returned. But, the temptation was too strong in this universes diversion from his own.  
He hadn't meant it to be long, he just wanted a final moment with Tony. To talk to him when he was still hopeful and alive. The image of his Tony's final moments would always be there, seared into his mind for eternity. His body burnt, his mind lost, and a smile on his face that he had saved everyone. In his time, Tony and Natasha were at peace, unburdened by the heartbreak they had left behind. 

He had only wanted a glimpse, a smile, a word. 

But he hadn't factored in their meddling previously, hadn't thought that this was a new thread away from his own universe, and that things had gone very differently here.  
Delivering the Stone back to the Sorcerer Supreme he had wanted to be on his way within the day before she mentioned his heartbreak, and apologised that his universe hadn't been kind to his scarred soul, stirring memories that he willed away during the day of a broken Tony slumped against his broken building surrounded by the grieving family he wasn't a part of. 

It was just a glimpse he wanted, a quick trip to this universes future to see that everything would be good, at least for a little while.

He arrived to a universe very different to his own time line. 

This Steve had gone after clues for Bucky like a rabid dog after his words on the walkway during their fight. And because of that Hydra was free to carry out their plan from Washington, only being stopped by Natasha and Clint at the last moments. But that hadn't stopped a few shots being taken by the Hellicarriers.  
The toll wasn't as bad as it could have been, a few seconds was all it took, but the casualties were in the low dozens.  
Unfortunately one of them had been Pepper Potts, a shot meant for the head had missed at the last second and gone through her shoulder, it was only a minor injury compared to what it could have been, but it was the final straw for a relationship that wasn't as solid yet as it was in his universe. She wanted to get away from the superhero lifestyle, and had left to be Tony's CEO in their London branch.  
Steve hated that their actions had made the chance of Morgan impossible for this Tony, his own Tony's every action in that final battle was to make sure his baby girl would be able to grow up safe and happy, their meddling in this universe had ripped the option of her away from Tony with him none the wiser.  
The doppler Steve, desperate to find any trace of a connection from his previous life, was later found dead in a hydra base somewhere in Thailand. It was a shock to the world that they had only just gotten back Captain America for him to be taken from them so soon without the mystery of his fate left to be speculated. Steve mourned for a version of him that didn't create connections in this life and died alone in a base more than likely by the hands of his best friend, because of throw away words he had spoken to gain the upper hand from a broken man. 

He really should have left, their time here had already destroyed so much. Lives altered without any of them ever knowing.  
And he would have, if he didn't fall for the temptation of just one more look, one final, desperate look of an alive and whole Tony. 

A look that by chance was caught and held by shocked and confused brown eyes. Steve really did try to leave, he wasn't ashamed to admit that he ran, trying to keep away from a man he had hurt in two time lines, but although Tony had a height disadvantage against Steve, he couldn't outrun a curious Tony Stark no matter how hard he tried.  
The busy street they were both running down soon thinned out to a series of narrow alleyways that Steve tried to lose him in, but the determined shoulder barge he received once he had slowed slightly shocked him so much he tripped over his own feet and collided with the dirty alley wall. 

Even a furious Tony Stark, angry at Steve for playing dead and hurting all his team-mates, finger wagging and ranting about irresponsibility, was a sight so beautiful to Steve he couldn't and wouldn't try to stop the smile that broke across his face like a sunrise.

He didn't try to stop his own rushed tale, unable to stop every secret from leaving his mouth, a silent and scared Tony listening in horror as he took in the changes to the Steve he briefly knew, knowing that this wasn't his Steve, but that he needed something from Tony and that he wouldn't let him leave until that broken look in Steve's blue eyes was a memory.

Everyday he promised himself that this would be the day he went home, that he had friends there that needed him, and that this world was changed but safe. Thanos dead before he even had a chance to get close to Earth, and Earth's bravest hero already protecting her. But every day there was a moment when Tony would look at him with his wide brown eyes and smile carefree and happy, that Steve always found a reason to stay until tomorrow.  
Days, weeks, then months passed by, every day he and Tony grew closer than they ever could in his original time, a desperate need in Steve to spend one more moment with him, and a burning curiosity in Tony to find out why this Steve, more broken but more willing to expose himself to more pain, stayed by his side like a starving man at a feast. Tony no longer having Pepper to tether him down planted himself to Steve, and Steve with no reason to stay in this time other than Tony grabbed onto this new connection they shared and couldn't get himself to let go.  
The love he felt for Tony was something all consuming and terrifying, always there but buried underneath disloyalty and distrust. The knowledge of what would happen if he didn't hold on tight made him hold tighter, and they both flourished under their shared affection into people the world could be proud of to call heroes. Their first kiss, nearly a year after Steve had arrived was a chased thing despite the emotions rolling and crashing inside them for so long. The fear that this wasn't his time line keeping them from taking the final step, the pain of having each other than having to say goodbye would be too much for both of them to handle. But it couldn't be contained long, and Steve knew he was lost the second he woke up surrounded by Tony completely, his relaxed face resting against Steve's chest was the final moment he could have returned to his time line, knowing him like this, so intimately, leaving now would be impossible. 

The world became aware that Captain America was back from the dead once more, a stronger unit of Avengers worked to keep people safe and no one questioned how Captain America was now a little older than he was during the invasion. Years passed with no world ending issues, rings were placed never to be removed again, and the bracelet that could take him to his original time line lay forgotten in a box full of memories. 

Thirty years he had been here, no longer thinking of this as the other time line, this was his time, his home with his beautiful husband, and their children. A family so large the mansion struggled to fit them all.  
Both he and Tony had long since gone grey, Tony's beautiful eyes surrounded by crows feet and laughter lines, an injury from battle leaving him walking with a stick and both deciding retirement was well earned.  
And then, it started happening. Very slowly the serum started to fail. It began with slight aches, nothing much: pains in his wrists, his knees hurting if sat in one position too long. Then his breathing became more laboured, his metabolism slower.  
And after multiple tests it was concluded that Steve would soon burn out the last of his serum and be completely human, left to live an unenhanced life with his husband for the rest of their days. 

He could have left it there, lived and died in his time line without ever going back and explaining, but that wouldn't be fair. His friends needed to know, then he could go home and be with Tony forever.

Going back didn't hurt as much as he thought it would on his de-serumed body, age had him walking slowly and quietly towards the lone bench near the experiment. He watched himself say goodbye and the worried expressions on Sam, Bucky, and Bruce's face when he didn't immediately return. Heard it when Bucky noticed him, smiled up at the shocked eyes of Sam when he finally approached.

Giving Sam his shield felt like a weight had been lifted, this world would be safe with the team working together as a unit stronger than they were before. His original times shield was broken beyond repair, but this was something from his time line he could pass over, a shield used only to protect, given to him with love by his husband, passed onto his friends with trust that this world was safe in their hands. 

Saying goodbye was hard but needed, finally after thirty plus years he had completed his final mission, but now it was time to go home and live the life his original Tony had been trying to get him to do for years.  
It took losing him in one universe to realise what he had missed out on, what the world would have to sacrifice to be safe after not listening to his warnings. He had failed this universes Tony, had failed Pepper, and Morgan, and left a hole in this world by not trusting him sooner.  
But he wouldn't fail his Tony in whatever years they had left together, had loved him for years and would love him for forever to come. 

One last look to his closest friends and one more breath of this time lines air, and he was gone. Back into the arms of the man he will love through every moment of the multiverse.

**Author's Note:**

> Endgame was a perfect send off to two characters and two actors I have loved for a decade. I was wrecked by Tony's death, and devastated by the loss of Steve. But I wouldn't change a single thing.... Except when my little shipper heart starts coming up with ideas.  
> Every mistake is mine, I just wanted to write a little something for Endgame before the floodgates opened.


End file.
